Pro-Profiling Tips please!

    Merry Xmas everyone!


    So after a few years of extensive use of my toaster, I decided to hire a studio real close to where I have my rehearsal space to make some nice profiles with some good mics, preamps, etc. (I made a few profiles a couple years ago but I was in the same room with the amp, so I couldn't get a proper picture of what the mic was picking up).


    I'll be profiling these amps (most of them borrowed from my pals at the rehearsal space, some from the studio itself):


    mid 80's Marshall JCM 800 (the only one that I own)

    early 70's Marshall Superbass (Red Tolex, amazingly beautiful amp!)

    late 70's Marshall JMP

    mid 70's Marshall JMP

    70's Matchless

    A few not so vintage fenders


    I also have a few nice cabs at my disposal, so I guess I'll play around until I end with a couple cabs I like better, and I'll do the same with the mics (I was thinking of a sm57 aimed to the center of a speaker and a ribbon mic to pick the warmer freq's more to one side in another speaker, plus maybe a bigger capsule condenser for some room tone -I doubt the kemper can process that during the profiling process though, but I'll try anyway-)


    I'm not planning to do any merged or direct profiles ATM, I think I'll be able to do these if want to without needing to get into a studio...


    Does any of you seasoned profile makers (amateur or sellers) have any tip or advice you'd wish someone had told you before your first profiling session? My aim is to get the best possible profiles out of these beasts in the quickest possible way; I'm leaning towards low/medium gain profiles, but I think I'll try to cover everything these amps can offer, from cleans to sweatin'-tube dirty crunches.


    The points I have more doubts about are:


    1) Phase issues (I guess they'll be more or less easy to solve moving the mics around and analyzing the recorded waves in protools until they look and sound good)

    2) Which guitar/s to use when doing the profiles. I think I'll try to dial in something that sounds good (or can sound good after a lil tweaking) in both SC and HB, but I'm not very sure how to do it LOL, I fear I might end up with something that doesn't sound bad but doesn't sound real good either with any guitar...

    3) Refine or not refine? How?


    Thank you very much in advance!


    ps.- of course I'll upload these to the Rig Exchange once they're finished so I can give something back to this amazing comunity!

    2/

    I'd setup the amps for a given guitar just like you do IRL , include these notes in the specific field in the profile tags , this way users will adjust.

    If you have P90 , most profiles will suit HB and SC , with some exceptions of course


    3/ refine became unnecessary a while ago. But you can still experiment

    ...



    I'd also suggest taking merged profiles , the merge option led me to really great results in the past.


    be sure the resulting collection of profiles is set in a right volume range , it's very uncomfortable to test a batch of profiles with lots of volume differences.


    Do a lot of A/B real amp VS profile in the control room to get sure your profiles are a perfect match to the real stuff.


    Enjoy this rewarding experience :)

    1) One great way to deal with phase issues is to use something like the Little Labs phase tool to basically shift around the phase of the second mic till you get all you want out of the combination


    2) I wouldn't aim the SM57 at the centre of the speaker. Better to do that with the ribbon mic. Use the SM57 towards the edge of the cone or a bit further away and pointed in towards the centre.


    3) Refining does change how a profile sounds, even if it isn't necessary. Usually I'll do a profile once and then save, then profile again and save after refining.


    4) As far as multi-mic profiles, the Kemper definitely can handle more than one, but the results will depend on how you position the mics. In that regard, it'll be good if the monitoring system in the studio is up to scratch, because what you put into the Kemper is what you get out of it, even if you can't always hear it.

    Thank you waraba ! As I've got a few amps/cabs to profile and I won't have much time, I'm afraid I won't have a lot of time to experiment with 'secondary' things: as a lot of profiles out there I'd love to end up with something that works on both HB and SC. I don't have P90's but I might be able to find something for the occasion!


    Regarding the merged profiles, TBH I could tell the difference when playing merged / studio profiles (I know thoretically they should be the same with CAB ON, but 90% of the times I found the studio ones to sound a bit better to my ears).


    I will focus on getting a superb source sound and then get into profiling... I think I'll spend most of the time moving things around and testing until I get to the sweet spots of each combination.

    1) Thanks for the tip!

    2) I guess I'll play around with the mics till I begin hearing what I like

    3) Believe it or not, I had thought of doing exactly this!

    4) Yeah I think the monitors are fine. A bit bass heavy to my liking, but I was planning on adjusting the control room sound a bit in the first place...


    Thank you nightlight